"Best Ever" Peanut Butter Cookies

"Best Ever" Peanut Butter Cookies - made dough August 19, 2016 from Like to Cook It

If you ever wonder why I seem to make the same type of thing in relatively quick succession, chances are I was in the mood to make something, trolled pinterest and my baking books for recipes of that something and ended up with several that I couldn’t decide between. Such is the case with another peanut butter cookie.

It started when I was going to see my nieces one weekend and I asked them what they wanted me to make. They decided on peanut butter cookies. So off I go on my recipe trolling and came across at least 5-6 different recipes I wanted to try. Then come to find out the Costco-sized half jar of peanut butter sitting in my pantry has been sitting there long enough to have just expired a month before I meant to use it. I didn’t know if the “best before” date was more of a suggestion or a mandate but I never take those kinds of chances, especially since I’m not going to be the only one eating them. It was another week before I got to Costco to buy another 2-pack, ever optimistic that this time I’ll use both jars well before their sell-by date and I ended up making my nieces something else.

But I still had these recipes for good-looking peanut butter cookies on my pinterest board! I made one already and they were gobbled up at work before I could blink and that recipe became my favorite peanut butter cookie. But I’m afraid it’s going to have to move over and make room for this one. I normally don’t buy into someone else’s hyperbole about “best ever” but I may have to remove the quotes on this one. Or at least qualify it as “one of the best ever” peanut butter cookie recipes I’ve tried. Because it is.

Similar to the other recipe, this also didn’t spread much and had a wonderfully moist and chewy texture. It was also soft, almost fragile, especially if you underbake cookies like I do. For the chocolate, I chopped up a big slab of Cadbury milk chocolate whole hazelnut that I’d bought last time I was in Europe. I know, I don’t like nuts in my cookies, right? The hazelnuts actually worked in this cookie. They didn’t steam and soften but remained crunchy and paired well with the peanut butter. Go figure. So now I have two awesome peanut butter cookie recipes for you. Be creative with the add-ins. You can add chopped, toasted peanuts or plain chocolate chips or chunks, semisweet or milk. Just don’t overbake them.

Oh, and for anyone keeping score, these too disappeared rather quickly at work.

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, cream the peanut butter, butter and sugar, until blended. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, gradually, and mix to combine. Form into golf ball-size dough balls, flatten slightly into thick discs, cover, and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough discs in granulated sugar and evenly space on cookie sheets.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake, even if they look undercooked. Cool completely on wire racks.